Iberostar Waves Paraíso del Mar

We had an amazing vacation! The food was delicious, the pools were beautiful, and the entertainment every night was fantastic. We especially want to thank Cinthia Saucedo for her outstanding service. She was always friendly, professional, and genuinely cared about making our stay unforgettable. Her positive attitude and warm hospitality made us feel at home. We can't wait to come back!

My family and I stayed at Paraiso Del Mar last week in Playa del Carmen. We went to have a great vacation. We left having an absolutely AMAZING time…so much so we’re booked to return in October! The entire resort, staff and service is a notch above all the rest. We’ve traveled the world and we were taken aback by the service we were given. We were treated like royalty and as though we were the only guests on the property. We fell in love with the Iberostar brand and what it has to offer around the world so much so that we became Club Members. Diego and Alessa made sure we were happy each day and helped us tremendously with navigating the property, things to do outside the resort, explained thoroughly the membership benefits and process and overall truly wanted us to enjoy our time. Diego and Alessa made sure we had a home away from home. We went home having made friends and can’t wait to see them both in October! Billie, whom works in Sales, was awesome! He wasn’t pushy. He explained our options with the Club Membership and worked hard to find a membership that worked for our family. When we had questions Billie found us at the pool to talk to us! Talk about first class service! Thank you to all of you and Iberostar for an AWESOME experience and WONDERFUL vacation! Til October…🥳! Last but definitely not the least, the resort itself is magnificent! Huge property with numerous hotel options, restaurants with high quality food and drink, water park, wave pool, gorgeous beach, numerous pools, and allllllll the animals! As you walk or use a golf cart to get around you’ll be among sereches, flamingos, swans, peacocks, iguanas, many birds, geckos, monkeys…it’s an animal lovers paradise! The flora and fauna are endless and truly dreamy! True paradise. Incredible beauty!

We just came back from 2 weeks here and had such a lovely time. I was a little worried about the lack of AC in the restaurants but it was honestly fine. Swimming pool was gorgeous, we rented a Bali Bed through concierge for 4 days of our trip and it was so worth it. The feature of the app telling us when our room was clean was really helpful and the drinks in the room fridge were super appreciated. The room was really clean, super comfy bed and great water pressure in the shower. The grounds to the hotel are so incredibly well kept and the shuttle carts around were helpful and often but we chose to walk a lot of the time. We’re both vegan and our only minor complaint was that we found the buffet labelling wasn’t always right and often put out late into opening hours. We fed this back to the hotel and they were brilliant at reaching out to help. The two top things for us were for sure the animals and the entertainment team. We booked this hotel for the jungle-vibes and animals and we weren’t disappointed at all. We saw so many animals during our stay and even had a resident raccoon right outside our balcony. They’re my favourite! The entertainment team work SO hard it’s unreal. Their energy is incredible and they made the trip really special. Special shoutout to Alex for being wonderful for the whole trip and making besties with Mike from England! We would absolutely love to come back one day.

We just returned from a wonderful week-long vacation at Delmar, and our family had an amazing time. This was our first stay at an Iberostar resort after visiting more than 10 all-inclusive resorts over the years, typically with Dreams properties. For the price, Delmar is an outstanding value, and after this experience, we will definitely be booking Iberostar resorts again in the future. The standout feature of this resort is the staff. Everyone was incredibly friendly, welcoming, and accommodating—some of the best service we've experienced at any resort. The entertainment team was fantastic, especially Alex and Rodrigo, who worked tirelessly to get guests involved and keep the energy high throughout the day. The food was consistently good, and we always found plenty of delicious options. Restaurant service varied somewhat depending on the venue. We received excellent service at the Smokehouse and Mediterranean restaurants, while the Mexican and French restaurants were a bit less consistent. That said, we've found this to be fairly typical at most all-inclusive resorts. The pools were absolutely incredible—easily the best we've seen. They were spacious, clean, and refreshing. There are two swim-up bars, one in the main pool and another in the activities pool, which are conveniently located next to each other. We spent most of our time at the main pool, where Ricardo and Francisco provided exceptional service. They quickly learned our favorite drinks and always made us feel welcome. Unfortunately, the beach was heavily affected by seaweed during our stay, making the ocean largely unusable. The staff worked around the clock trying to keep the beach clean, but the volume of seaweed was simply overwhelming. Despite that, we still enjoyed spending time on the beach, relaxing on loungers, enjoying drinks, grabbing food from the grill, and listening to the waves. The odor from the seaweed was generally manageable and seemed most noticeable when cleanup efforts were underway. Another highlight was the abundance of wildlife around the resort. The coatis were entertaining to watch—although they'll definitely try to steal your food if given the chance! Overall, our family of four thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this vacation. It's rare that I leave a resort without being able to think of at least one negative, but honestly, I can't come up with any. Delmar exceeded our expectations, and we highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun, family-friendly all-inclusive getaway.

Lovely, spotless resort. Amazing, friendly staff with great food and drink. Nice rooms, very clean and very well kept by staff. We were on the first floor (building 19, room 1905). Our room faced the road where the golf carts travelled to/from the beach and pools but it was very quiet. Rooms have (wall mounted) shampoo, conditioner and body wash in the shower, body lotion and liquid hand soap by the sink, a great hair dryer and a small bottle of bug repellant. Mini bar stocked daily with a variety of colas and 2 beer. But if you want more cervesa 😉 (or anything) slip some cash in the fridge and ask for more. We did and she supplied us with a fridge FULL of beer! (we don't drink cola) And on my birthday they surprised me with a tray of chocolate covered strawberries and a bottle of bubbly in the room. ❤️🎉 There is no bottled water in the rooms but there are 2 large glass bottles (that must stay in the rooms at all times) that you refill at a water station just outside the rooms. I think 1 fill station per floor. Our building had 3 floors, no elevator. All buildings along our section Del Mar were the same (buildings 10 to 20). Air conditioning worked great but is preset to 20° as the lowest temp upon arrival. However once you arrive and check in ask them at the desk to lower it (lowest is 18°) as they control that part from the front desk. You can then change the temp higher if you prefer from your room. Amazing food and drinks with a number of restaurant choices and a couple buffets and snack bars. Wifi throughout the whole resort, beach included. Download and use the Iberostar app to check out restaurant options and events going on throughout the resort. You can check the app out ahead of time but once you get your room number you can access more via the app. We did not attend any shows or the theatre shows nor do any excursions to comment on that. Large resort (long from beach inland to the lobby), a lot of level walking but easy to navigate once you find your way around. And many golf carts to get you around from the lobby to as far as the beach. Our building 19 was the second building from the lobby but further from the pools and beach. But for us it was an easy walk to either (maybe 8-10 minute stroll from building to the beach/pool; a quick 2 minute walk to the lobby/lobby bar). However there are stops along the way where golf carts pick you up if you prefer or cannot do the walk. The pool we hung out at was near buildings 11 to 13. Beach was near the pools but not visible from them. Resort is wheelchair friendly/accessible and service-dog friendly. Beach was very nice, soft white sand, lots of chairs and palapas but loads of sargassam (volume changes daily) which is typical for Mexico so we didn't hang out there. Food (burgers, fries, nachoes, etc.) and drink bar and picnic tables on the beach too but beware of the coatis! They hang out to steal unattended food so use the garbage cans available when done. We spent our days at one of the very large pools (4-4.5 feet deep) also with lots of palapas and shade if preferred. Pools were very warm in mid-May (bathwater kind of warm). It was an active pool during the day. The pool that backs onto it is slightly shallower (3.5 feet) and quieter but is where they had the fun foam party on Friday afternoon. The Del Mar shares access with the resort next door, Beach. There are 5 resorts in this Iberostar complex (Del Mar, Beach, Lindo, Maya and Joia [adult only]). The Del Mar is very kid friendly and there is a water slide at the Beach side for them along with a kids club, Star Camp. There are many other options the higher up you go in the resorts (closer to Joia direction) which has a shopping center and many other exciting places. Check our the Iberostar Waves Paraiso site! Del Mar has a gift/clothing shop (very expensive) and jewelry store. Lots of wildlife around which I truly enjoyed! Many coatis and agoutis everywhere, iguanas, a couple peacocks, 2 monkeys (mom and baby) but I only saw them once as they ran by the pool, 5 pink flamingos always roaming the resort but hang near the lobby during the day (loved seeing them every day), a white and a black swan and 2 parrots near the same lobby. It was very enjoyable to watch them each day. All in all we absolutely loved the the Iberostar Waves Paraiso Del Mar and would absolutely return.

Food was excellent and pool was warm. Could spend hours watching all the different animals running around. Accommodation could use an upgrade but was always kept neat and clean. Thanks to certain staff, the maid who looked after room 1101 also, Jorge Cabrera, Josue Torres and Fredy Kauil at the theatre bar who looked after us so well. Will be back next year.

I rely heavily on TripAdvisor reviews when selecting resorts, so I like to give an honest review after my stay for others. I traveled solo for some alone R&R over Mother's Day weekend. Check in was quick and friendly. I then met with the Concierge who shared some useful information about the resort and made a reservation on my behalf for dinner the evening of check in. He briefly mentioned the "time share" breakfast and offered me free services for attending but I declined and we moved on quickly. Start of check in until I was delivered to my room, was probably 15-20 minutes total. I was never approached by anyone else about the time share for the remainder of my stay. I downloaded the app and it was very useful throughout my stay. The room was a bit underwhelming but perfectly adequate and the decor fit the aesthetic of the resort. The room was clean upon arrival and thereafter, it was cleaned daily. I was notified each day via the app when my room had been cleaned. The refillable water bottle was nice and it was easy to locate the refill stations. The drinks in the mini fridge were replenished, as needed. AC worked great. There was an umbrella and bug repellent but I never needed either. There is a drying rack on the balcony for wet suits. I never had any issues with making dinner reservations via the app or getting into any of the first come first serve restaurants. I ate at Smokehouse, Mediterranean, French and Japanese. All were very good!!!! Just check the app each day to see which one will be open and plan accordingly. Breakfast buffet was wonderful at both Beach and Del Mar side. The Beach side opens a little earlier. You can get lattes/cappuccinos at the lobby bars also. The lunch buffets on both sides were just ok. Typical resort buffets. I went down one afternoon and grabbed a burger at the beach to take back to my room for a late afternoon snack. It was good. I did not try the tacos or burgers at the shopping area because they had the same offerings close by in the buffets and beach restaurant. There was Ice cream by the pool bar. They also did daily food in that area such as tacos and paella, but that food went fast and there was a long line to get it. I did spend some time at the shopping mall but just didn't eat there. It was a nice area to visit. I got a latte at the coffee shop before my spa appointment. The spa was wonderful and well worth the money!! My Babor treatment also included meditation rooms before treatment, the juice bar and the hydrotherapy areas. I did receive resort credits a few days into my stay via the app and used one of the $25 credits towards the spa. I also made my spa reservation before arrival but I'm not sure if that was necessary. I walked there and it wasn't a long walk, in my opinion. The beach was typical for the Riviera Maya area. Lots of sargassum and tractor clean up. I didn't spend a lot of time at the beach but it was nice despite the sargassum. I read some reviews ahead of time about difficulty getting a chair at the pool and this was indeed an issue if you arrive after 10:00 am. I ended up renting a Bali bed for $17 on my last day and wished I would have done that for my entire stay. It was wonderful and well worth the money! I also read that the pool was dirty, and it is! I'm sure it's hard to maintain with the size of the pool area, but it was not clean. Lots of debris and just overall felt very dirty, as if the filtration system might be an issue. The Bali bed that I rented was near the Privilege section and volleyball/basketball pool area. I specifically chose that area because the water was clean there. Towels are picked up and returned but no towel card is required. There is basically no pool drink service. I did get drinks a few times but definitely don't count on that service to be constant. It was very disappointing. I am used to getting full drink service , often, at all inclusive resorts. You have to go to the swim up or the walk up pool bar to get a drink. I did notice slow to no drink service in the lobby and theater area also. However, it wasn't hard to go to the bar myself and order a drink. The resort is large but very easy to get around and navigate and while there is a lot of walking, the grounds are absolutely beautiful. If you don't want to walk, it was fairly easy to jump on the tram/cart. Especially to and from the lobby. The animals are everywhere and a great part of what makes this resort really special. Activities are often at the pool, lobby bars and theaters. Again, check the app for schedule of activities. I called for a cart when I was ready to check out and they arrived promptly to take me to the lobby. Check out was easy and I had no surprises with my bill. My sole complaints are the cleanliness of the pool and lack of drink service at the pool. This resort is definitely not as high end with high end service as some places that I have visited before but I wanted a true Mexican vibe with lush grounds and tropical animals and that is exactly what I got. All in all, I had a wonderful time at this resort and would come back again.

My wife and I are Iberostar The Club members and spent two weeks at Waves Del Mar from Feb 22-Mar 08, 2026. The staff at Star Prestige were amazing and went above and beyond to make our stay a very memorable experience. They were very friendly, welcoming and competently catered to our needs. We have nothing but praise for how we were treated. This was our 4th time visiting Waves Del Mar and will continue to return as the staff at Star Prestige treats us like family.